Democrats do not have to change parties to read the scoreboard. Tina Kotek took office in January 2023 on a promise to end the homelessness emergency and build 36,000 homes a year. Nearly four years later, the problems she named are larger. Oregon’s homelessness count was 17,959 in 2022, 22,875 in 2024, and 27,202 in 2025. Her office can cite shelter beds and rehoused households. The statewide count still rose, and the emergency was extended again. Housing never came close to the goal she set. Census figures show about 14,600 new units in 2024, down from roughly 20,300 the year before she was sworn in, and permits stayed under 15,000 in 2025. Schools received record funding. Outcomes did not follow. Standardized scores and chronic absenteeism remain among the worst in the country. The job market is not a rescue either. Unemployment was 5.1 percent in August 2026, with 10,900 fewer nonfarm jobs than a year earlier. If the test is whether homelessness, housing, and schools got better, they did not. Another term is a bet that the same approach will finally work after it has not. That is a hard bet when rent, the street, and your kid’s classroom are the evidence. References 1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Point-in-Time estimates: huduser.gov/portal/datasets/… 2. Oregon Point-in-Time counts, 2015–2025, drawn from HUD files: rightnoworegon.com/2026/09/2… 3. Kotek housing production goal of 36,000 homes a year, January 10, 2023 executive order: kezi.com/news/gov-kotek-sign… 4. Housing production and school results: opb.org/article/2025/10/22/o… 5. Permits under 15,000 in 2025: grantspasstribune.com/kotek-… 6. Oregon Department of Education, 2024–25 statewide assessment results: content.govdelivery.com/acco… 7. Oregon Employment Department, August 2026 unemployment and payrolls: kval.com/news/local/oregon-u…